A global women's strike would be so powerful'

Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup speaks out on the menopause, gender inequality and justice for older women in the workplace

As soon as she appears on screen for our video chat, Mariella Frostrup is an absolute delight – straight-talking and passionate, but a delight nonetheless.

After becoming one of the most recognisable faces and voices on radio and television (she’s also the voice of the London Overground) over three decades, she’s spent the past few years transforming into a voice of a generation when it comes to menopause awareness.

“As a woman of my generation I’ve grown up suffused with shame about almost everything to do with my body,” she tells us.

“Menopause just seems like the final insult to me. It was this thing that I knew nothing about, and nobody else seemed to know anything about, and it came with so many challenges.

“It comes at a time when you’re already feeling really vulnerable and like the world might be passing you by, and suddenly you feel not fit for purpose – that’s devastating and completely wrong.”

Two years ago Mariella, who turns 61 next week, stepped away from her role as a presenter and host and wrote Cracking The Menopause to help separate fact from fiction and empower women before, during and after what was once only referred to as “the change”.

Then, last year she took her advocacy one step further and founded the Menopause Mandate, a coalition of campaigners with Davina McCall and Carol Vorderman as patrons.

While both are useful tools for conversation and change, her latest role as ambassador for the Always Discreet “Squeeze the Day” pelvic floor campaign, working with Dr Philippa Kaye, may seem a little more playful, but with only 9% of women doing pelvic floor exercises as often as they should, it’s no less important to Mariella.